Trade management¶
What happens to a position after the entry: moving the stop to breakeven, trailing it, protecting a profit that came close to the target, closing on an end-trade drawdown (ETD), or by time and result (ROI). Each is switched on in General properties; they work together, and the stop is never loosened.
Breakeven¶
| Parameter | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | Ticks | Unit of Trigger and Offset: ticks, points, percent, currency, ATR, R multiple, or set by the strategy. |
| Trigger (ticks) | 20 | How far the trade has to be in profit before the stop goes to breakeven. |
| Trigger (points) | 5 | How far the trade has to be in profit before the stop goes to breakeven. A point is the instrument's price unit - 1 point of NQ or ES is 4 ticks. |
| Trigger (%) | 0.1 | How far the trade has to be in profit, as a percentage of the entry price, before the stop goes to breakeven. |
| Trigger per contract ($) | 100 | How much one contract has to have made before the stop goes to breakeven, in account currency. |
| Trigger (ATR) | 1.0 | How far the trade has to be in profit, in ATRs of the chart's bars, before the stop goes to breakeven. |
| Trigger (R) | 1.0 | How far the trade has to be in profit, in multiples of what it risked, before the stop goes to breakeven: 1 means once it has made what its stop would have lost. |
| Offset (ticks) | 2 | How far past the entry the stop is put, in the trade's favour - the profit locked in. 0 = exactly at the average entry price. |
| Offset (points) | 0.5 | How far past the entry the stop is moved, in the trade's favour. 0 = at the entry. |
| Offset (%) | 0.01 | How far past the entry the stop is put, as a percentage of the entry price. 0 = exactly at the entry. |
| Offset per contract ($) | 10 | The profit per contract the moved stop locks in, in account currency. 0 = exactly at the entry. |
| Offset (ATR) | 0.1 | How far past the entry the stop is put, in ATRs. 0 = exactly at the entry. |
| Offset (R) | 0.1 | How far past the entry the stop is put, in multiples of what the trade risked. 0 = exactly at the entry. |
| ATR period (bars) | 14 | The ATR Trigger and Offset are measured in, on the chart's bars. |
| Plus | Off | Second step: once the trade reaches Plus trigger, move the stop to the entry plus Plus offset. |
| Plus trigger (ticks) | 40 | How far from the entry the trade has to be in profit before the second step. Must be above Trigger (ticks), or the step adds nothing. |
| Plus trigger (points) | 10 | Profit needed for the second step. Must be above Trigger. |
| Plus trigger (%) | 0.2 | How far the trade has to be in profit, as a percentage of the entry price, before the second step. Must be above Trigger (%). |
| Plus trigger per contract ($) | 200 | How much one contract has to have made before the second step, in account currency. Must be above Trigger per contract ($). |
| Plus trigger (ATR) | 2.0 | How far the trade has to be in profit, in ATRs of the chart's bars, before the second step. Must be above Trigger (ATR). |
| Plus trigger (R) | 2.0 | How far the trade has to be in profit, in multiples of what it risked, before the second step. Must be above Trigger (R). |
| Plus offset (ticks) | 20 | Where the second step puts the stop, past the entry. Must be above Offset and below Plus trigger. |
| Plus offset (points) | 5 | Where the second step puts the stop, past the entry. Must be above Offset and below Plus trigger. |
| Plus offset (%) | 0.1 | Where the second step puts the stop, as a percentage of the entry price past the entry. Must be above Offset (%). |
| Plus offset per contract ($) | 100 | The profit per contract the second step locks in, in account currency. Must be above Offset per contract ($). |
| Plus offset (ATR) | 1.0 | Where the second step puts the stop, in ATRs past the entry. Must be above Offset (ATR). |
| Plus offset (R) | 1.0 | Where the second step puts the stop, in multiples of what the trade risked past the entry. Must be above Offset (R). |
Trail stop¶
| Parameter | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | Ticks | How far behind the price the stop is kept: ticks, points, percent, currency, ATR, R multiple, beyond the recent extreme, or set by the strategy. |
| Distance (ticks) | 20 | How far behind the price the stop is kept, in ticks. |
| Distance (points) | 5 | How far behind the price the stop is kept, in points. A point is the instrument's price unit - 1 point of NQ or ES is 4 ticks. |
| Distance (%) | 0.1 | How far behind the price the stop is kept, as a percentage of the price. |
| Distance per contract ($) | 100 | How far behind the price the stop is kept, as what one contract would give back, in account currency. |
| Distance (ATR) | 1.5 | How far behind the price the stop is kept, in ATRs of the chart's bars - it widens on a fast market and tightens on a quiet one. |
| Distance (R) | 1.0 | How far behind the price the stop is kept, in multiples of what the trade risked. |
| Bars look back | 3 | How many bars of the chart the Extremum mode takes its low or high from. |
| Offset (ticks) | 2 | How far beyond that low or high the stop is kept. 0 = exactly on it. |
| ATR period (bars) | 14 | The ATR the distance and the trigger are measured in, on the chart's bars. |
| Trigger (ticks) | 20 | How far the trade has to be in profit before the trail starts. 0 = from the entry. |
| Trigger (points) | 5 | How far the trade has to be in profit before the trail starts. 0 = from the entry. A point is the instrument's price unit - 1 point of NQ or ES is 4 ticks. |
| Trigger (%) | 0.1 | How far the trade has to be in profit, as a percentage of the entry price, before the trail starts. 0 = from the entry. |
| Trigger per contract ($) | 100 | How much one contract has to have made before the trail starts. 0 = from the entry. |
| Trigger (ATR) | 1.0 | How far the trade has to be in profit, in ATRs, before the trail starts. 0 = from the entry. |
| Trigger (R) | 1.0 | How far the trade has to be in profit, in multiples of what it risked, before the trail starts. 0 = from the entry. |
| Only in profit | On | Trail only once the stop can be moved past the entry price. |
| Time unit | Bars | What Start after is counted in: bars of the chart, or seconds of market time - the data's own time stamps, never the computer's clock. |
| Start after (bars) | 0 | Start trailing after this many bars, whatever the profit. 0 = off. |
| Start after (s) | 0 | The same as Start after (bars), in seconds of market time. 0 = off. |
| Step (ticks) | 1 | The smallest move of the stop the trail makes. The stop is changed only when the new level is at least this much better, so the broker is not sent a change on every tick. |
Profit protection¶
| Parameter | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | Ticks | Unit of Offset: ticks, points, percent, currency, ATR, R multiple, or decided by the strategy. |
| Offset (ticks) | 4 | How close to the target the price has to come to arm the protection. Once armed, a fall back past that level closes the position. |
| Offset (points) | 1 | How close to the target the price must come to arm the protection; a pullback past this level then closes the position. |
| Offset (%) | 0.02 | How close to the target the price has to come to arm the protection, as a percentage of the entry price. |
| Offset per contract ($) | 20 | How close to the target the price has to come to arm the protection, as money per contract short of the target. |
| Offset (ATR) | 0.2 | How close to the target the price has to come to arm the protection, in ATRs of the chart's bars. |
| Offset (R) | 0.2 | How close to the target the price has to come to arm the protection, in multiples of what the trade risked. |
| ATR period (bars) | 14 | The ATR the offset is measured in, on the chart's bars. |
| Draw level | On | Draw the profit protection level on the chart: faint until armed, bright once armed. |
| Level line | — | Colour, dash style and width of the profit protection line. |
ETD¶
| Parameter | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | Ticks | Unit of Trigger and Drawdown: ticks, points, percent, currency, ATR, R multiple, or decided by the strategy. |
| Trigger (ticks) | 20 | How far the trade has to be in profit before its best price starts being watched. 0 = from the entry. |
| Trigger (points) | 5 | Profit needed before the drawdown from the best price is watched. 0 = from the entry. |
| Trigger (%) | 0.1 | How far the trade has to be in profit, as a percentage of the entry price, before its best price starts being watched. 0 = from the entry. |
| Trigger per contract ($) | 100 | How much one contract has to have made before its best price starts being watched. 0 = from the entry. |
| Trigger (ATR) | 1.0 | How far the trade has to be in profit, in ATRs, before its best price starts being watched. 0 = from the entry. |
| Trigger (R) | 1.0 | How far the trade has to be in profit, in multiples of what it risked, before its best price starts being watched. 0 = from the entry. |
| Drawdown (ticks) | 10 | How far the price may fall back from the trade's best price before the position is closed. |
| Drawdown (points) | 2.5 | How far the price may fall back from the trade's best price before the position is closed. A point is the instrument's price unit - 1 point of NQ or ES is 4 ticks. |
| Drawdown (%) | 0.05 | How far the price may fall back, as a percentage of the trade's best price, before the position is closed. |
| Drawdown per contract ($) | 50 | How much one contract may give back from its best before the position is closed. |
| Drawdown (ATR) | 0.5 | How far the price may fall back from the best, in ATRs, before the position is closed. |
| Drawdown (R) | 0.5 | How far the price may fall back from the best, in multiples of what the trade risked, before the position is closed. |
| ATR period (bars) | 14 | The ATR Trigger and Drawdown are measured in, on the chart's bars. |
ROI¶
| Parameter | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | Percent | Unit of the level values: percent of the entry price, ticks, points, currency, ATR, R multiple, or decided by the strategy. |
| Time unit | Bars | What the periods of the levels are counted in: bars of the chart, or seconds of market time - the data's own time stamps, never the computer's clock. |
| ATR period (bars) | 14 | The ATR the values are measured in, on the chart's bars. |
| Roi 1 | Off | The first ROI level: once the position has been open for Period 1, close it as soon as its result is at least Value 1. Each level works on its own. |
| Period 1 (bars) | 15 | How many bars of the chart after the entry the first level starts to apply. |
| Period 1 (s) | 900 | How many seconds of market time after the entry the first level starts to apply. |
| Value 1 (%) | 0.2 | Result, in percent of the entry price, that closes the position at the first level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 1 (ticks) | 20 | Result, in ticks, that closes the position at the first level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 1 (points) | 5 | Result, in points, that closes the position at the first level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 1 per contract ($) | 100 | Result, per contract, in account currency, that closes the position at the first level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 1 (ATR) | 1.0 | Result, in ATRs, that closes the position at the first level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 1 (R) | 1.0 | Result, in multiples of the risk, that closes the position at the first level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Roi 2 | Off | The second ROI level: once the position has been open for Period 2, close it as soon as its result is at least Value 2. Each level works on its own. |
| Period 2 (bars) | 30 | How many bars of the chart after the entry the second level starts to apply. |
| Period 2 (s) | 1800 | How many seconds of market time after the entry the second level starts to apply. |
| Value 2 (%) | 0.1 | Result, in percent of the entry price, that closes the position at the second level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 2 (ticks) | 10 | Result, in ticks, that closes the position at the second level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 2 (points) | 2.5 | Result, in points, that closes the position at the second level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 2 per contract ($) | 50 | Result, per contract, in account currency, that closes the position at the second level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 2 (ATR) | 0.5 | Result, in ATRs, that closes the position at the second level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 2 (R) | 0.5 | Result, in multiples of the risk, that closes the position at the second level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Roi 3 | Off | The third ROI level: once the position has been open for Period 3, close it as soon as its result is at least Value 3. Each level works on its own. |
| Period 3 (bars) | 45 | How many bars of the chart after the entry the third level starts to apply. |
| Period 3 (s) | 2700 | How many seconds of market time after the entry the third level starts to apply. |
| Value 3 (%) | 0.05 | Result, in percent of the entry price, that closes the position at the third level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 3 (ticks) | 5 | Result, in ticks, that closes the position at the third level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 3 (points) | 1.25 | Result, in points, that closes the position at the third level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 3 per contract ($) | 25 | Result, per contract, in account currency, that closes the position at the third level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 3 (ATR) | 0.25 | Result, in ATRs, that closes the position at the third level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |
| Value 3 (R) | 0.25 | Result, in multiples of the risk, that closes the position at the third level. 0 = any result that is not a loss; a negative value also closes small losses. |